It's well known that, after a certain age, shaving off your beard makes you look substantially younger. Before a certain age, though, it's growing a beard that makes you look younger and shaving it off returns you to your regular age. Armsmasher is clearly in the latter category. The question is, where is the dividing line.

For Father Daniel Corogeanu, the beard probably made him look older at first, when it was only a couple inches long. But now, in combination with his unlined face and ample red hair, it produces a youthful effect again.

Due to the shirtlessness, I assume "however briefly" means in this case "long enough to snap a picture and back to the shaving." That was as long as I was able to tolerate having a beard and no mustache.